It was a retirement party Grahame Wilson will never forget.
The longtime B.C. firefighter pilot left the Penticton airport Tuesday evening, Sept. 13, in a Convair air tanker for the last time after 39 years of service.
His retirement seemed inevitable one week earlier on Sept. 6. The stage was set for a proper sendoff, as Wilson would lead Tankers 44, 49, and 55鈥檚 departure from Penticton Regional Airport after supporting BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) in a Convair for decades.
But as Wilson says, it鈥檚 never that simple.
The now 10,000-hectare Heather Lake wildfire delayed the sendoff. Crews supported BCWS in fighting the blaze, helping stop the flames before they got out of control.
Finally, though, on Sept. 13, Wilson would get his chance to give both the air tankers and the Okanagan one last farewell.
Black Press Media anticipated the longtime pilot to depart Penticton and make his way to Abbotsford at roughly 5 p.m. Upon arrival, it appeared as though a new wildfire in Clinton would put Wilson and his team in a position where retirement wouldn鈥檛 be the No. 1 priority, but instead, an afterthought yet again.
After being on what they call 鈥渞ed alert鈥� for about 10 minutes, Wilson鈥檚 team was given the green light by BCWS to finally depart and say goodbye to a community in which he served for decades.
鈥淚t鈥檚 day-by-day and minute-by-minute,鈥� the 67-year-old said. 鈥淚 love my job and have been talking about saying retiring since I was 60. But last year, I had an epiphany that since the Convair鈥檚 would be retiring in 2022, I would follow them.鈥�
Starting next fire season in 2023, air tankers De Havilland Dash 8 Q400 will be stationed at the Penticton airport. WestJet and Jazz currently use the aircraft for flights to Calgary and back.
Once Wilson knew it was time to leave Penticton one last time Tuesday evening and say farewell to a career that鈥檚 spanned more than half his life, he couldn鈥檛 help but reflect on all years he鈥檚 spent supporting one of the province鈥檚 most crucial services.
鈥淚t鈥檚 emotional in a good way and a sad way,鈥� Wilson said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge following for this in the Okanagan and people have told me how sad it would be to see the airplanes go but the Q400 is coming next year and it goes 100 mph faster and something the region is already familiar with, so it鈥檚 something to look forward to.鈥�
READ MORE: Time to wave a final goodbye to the Convair air tankers in Penticton
